At Home With Lisa

You have thought about it for awhile now. It has been a love/hate relationship for way too long. You tried to make it work, but you can tell you have grown apart. You know you deserve better, and it is time to move on. You are the only one who has changed. Your needs can't be met here...Admit it, the house that you once loved just doesn't fit your needs anymore. It is time to sell. When going about getting your house ready for the market, there are several things you need to do.

-Listen to your agent. They know the local market and how best to present your home.

-Don't take it personally. Your house is no longer yours, it is a product. It has to staged and decluttered. Remove the personal photos, and clean your closets. Anything nonessential needs to go to make the space feel as large as possible.

-Any delayed maintenance issues, take care of them NOW. Buyers will notice them, and result in a lower offer. A well maintained home is what every buyer is looking to find.

-Go ahead and get used to putting your toilet seats down, ALL THE TIME. Seriously. No one wants to look at that.  NO ONE.

Think you are ready?

Don't forget the most important thing...CLEAN, CLEAN, and then CLEAN SOME MORE! No matter how much effort you put into getting your house ready for sale, showing you are an owner that has taken pride in your home will go far with buyers. Nothing makes a buyer question the condition of your home more than the piles of dirty laundry on the bedroom floor, that stack of dirty dishes in the sink, and those balls of dog hair that are drifting across your floors when we walk through. A clean kitchen, sparkling bathrooms, fresh flowers, even dusting ceiling fan blades, all make a great first impression. Don't let them question, "If they can't even clean their house, has it been properly maintained??"

Make the extra effort! Buyers will take notice and you will reap the benefit when the offers start rolling in!